Taxpayers Pay More When Politicians Avoid Voter Approval For Debt

RALEIGH — Bypassing statewide bond referendums has cost North Carolina taxpayers an estimated $261 million in extra interest payments on state debt since 2005. That’s a key finding in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report. JLF is releasing the report as some N.C. legislators push a measure that would limit the amount of nonvoter-approved debt North Carolina could take on in the future.